Peninsula Bridge now
reaches 400 students
By Allison Silverman
Special to the Almanac

P

eninsula Bridge, which for
22 years has conducted
summer enrichment programs for motivated kids from
under-resourced communities,
is expanding its operations on
the Peninsula.
The program, which holds
five-week summer sessions at
local private schools, aims to
prepare fifth- through eighthgrade students so they are on
the college track when they get
to high school. The sessions
include a mix of academic and
enrichment classes, plus recreational activities.
The program has grown quite
a bit since it started in 1990 with
26 kids. This summer it has 400
students, a third more than in
2010. Now the goal is to reach 600
students by 2015. With growing
enrollment has come new school
sites. This year, two more schools
— Pinewood in Los Altos and
Saint Francis in Palo Alto — host
Peninsula Bridge summer sessions, bringing the number of
participating campuses to nine,
including two at Sacred Heart
Schools in Atherton.
Menlo School in Atherton and
Woodside Priory in Portola Valley are also in the program.
Deirdre Marlowe, executive
director of Peninsula Bridge,
said she’d like to find a way to
offer services to the students
during the school year, possible

by forming a closer relationship with local public schools.
Though private schools provide the campuses and a large
amount of backing for Peninsula Bridge, most students
come from public institutions,
and the more than 15 public
schools in the area also support
the program, said Sherri Shaner,
Peninsula Bridge’s development
director.
Academically, Peninsula
Bridge students focus on English and mathematics, reviewing
what they studied at school over
the past year and preparing for
the next. The average studentteacher ratio is 4 to 1, giving the
kids extensive “individual attention,” said Ms. Shaner.
Weekly field trips and daily
classes on such topics as nutrition and art provide valuable extracurricular experience
“often lost in middle school” but
important to develop student
confidence in the classroom, she
said.
Students attend a different
campus each year so they can
experience new environments
and use what each school has to
offer, explained Ms. Shaner. The
fifth-graders attend single-sex
campuses, but after the first year
the campuses are co-ed.
At Castilleja School in Palo
Alto, fifth-grade girls use the
dance studio to practice dance,
something “many have never
experienced before,” said one of

Almanac photo by Daniella Sanchez

Teacher assistant Amanda Louie works with students Angie Ortiz, left, and Valeria Fuentes during a math
lesson regarding prices and percentages at the Peninsula Bridge program at Castilleja School.

the teacher assistants.
An important aspect of the
Bridge program is the leadership
role of teacher assistants, who
are high school and college-age
volunteers.
Many of the assistants have
participated in Bridge programs
as students, and want to give
back, said Mary Hulburt, site
director at Castilleja. “I’ve never
had to recruit TAs,” she said.
Because the assistants come
from similar circumstances, the
students relate to them and look

up to them, said Ms. Shaner — a
sentiment seconded by the Castilleja school director and the
students themselves.
The assistants grow into leadership roles by teaching classes,
creating their own curriculum,
and providing role models for
the Bridge participants, said a
descriptive flier.
This year an Olympics theme
permeates many activities, such
as a “walk to London” challenge,
where students strap on pedometers and, working in teams,

try to walk the total number of
miles between here and London.
The goal is to remind students of
the hard work needed to achieve
success.
At Castilleja, some of the girls
are “getting very into it,” Ms.
Shaner said with a laugh. The
girls run up the stairs and jump
in line to fit in as many steps as
possible into their day.
Visit peninsulabridge.org for
more information on the Peninsula Bridge prograrm.

SRI wins grants to develop technologies

Students win scholarships

SRI International in Menlo
Park recently received two federal grants, one to develop technology to use natural gas in vehicles,
and the other to develop an oral
therapy for multiple sclerosis.
The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $875,000 to SRI to
develop low-pressure natural
gas storage tanks for light-duty
vehicles. SRI’s approach “using
porous carbon materials will
provide structural strength and
high surface area for gas adsorption that will entirely eliminate
the need for a costly external
tank,” the department said in
its July 12 announcement.
SRI is one of 13 companies
nationwide that will receive a
total of $30 million in federal

Twenty-eight local students
were recently awarded college
scholarships ranging from $500
to $5,000 each under a program
called Pursuit of Excellence,
started by Jerry and Dick Smallwood of Palo Alto.
The scholarships are seen as
a “tipping point” for these students in terms of helping them
go to college.
Since 1985, about 330 students
have received grants totaling
more than $2 million. The
program includes a mentoring
program to help with future
economic needs. Recipients are
recommended by school counselors and teachers.
Below are recipients from high
schools in the Almanac’s area, with

funds to develop technologies to
reduce the inefficiencies associated with using natural gas as a
vehicle fuel, the department said.

SRI will develop
natural gas storage
tanks for vehicles
and an oral drug for
multiple sclerosis.
This initiative attempts to move
beyond the high pressure, large size
and high cost of traditional natural
gas fuel systems. “The projects will
also focus on developing natural
gas compressors that make it easier

for consumers to re-fuel at home,”
the department said.
Go to tinyurl.com/Grant234
to download a PDF document
describing the other projects.

Multiple sclerosis drug
The Department of Defense
medical research programs have
awarded a one-year $131,000
grant to SRI to develop an oral
therapy for multiple sclerosis.
The new medication would be
designed to be more convenient
for patients than the current
intravenous infusions or injections that sometimes require
hospital visits. It also could help
patients who are not responding to current methods.

ack Randall and Christian
Freeman, two Menlo Park
residents who graduate from
Sacred Heart Prep this year, have
started a local car-washing business called Park, where the washers go to clients’ homes.
“We realized that local carwashing companies were either
too expensive, untrustworthy,
and that their lines were too
long,” said Mr. Randall said in
an email.
With Park, “literally all you
have to do is park your car. We
take care of the rest and bring
the car wash to your driveway,”

he said. The name Park resulted
from this business model, as
well as the fact that it started in
the city of Menlo Park.
The pair began the business
about two weeks ago, and this is
their first attempt at starting a
business. They say they are getting about seven to 10 requests
per week, and hope that will continue to rise as word gets out.
They currently serve Menlo
Park and Atherton, and hope to
expand.
In the fall Mr. Randall will
attend Santa Clara University
and Mr. Freeman, University
of Southern California. They
hope to recruit high school and

Recent Sacred Heart Prep grads
Jack Randall, left, and Christian
Freeman start a new business
before they head for college.

Stanford students to keep Park
operating.
The business offers both interior and exterior cleaning, and
charges $18 for an exterior
wash on smaller cars and $24
for larger cars. Interior cleaning
costs $8.
Visit parkinmenlo.webs.com
for more information.
A

DJ Wyatt Giampa heads for Grammy Camp
By Elena Kadvany
Special to the Almanac

P

ortola Valley resident
Wyatt Giampa, 16, is one
of 136 high school students selected to attend Grammy
Camp, a 10-day summer music
program.
A budding electronic music
producer, Wyatt will attend the
camp’s Los Angeles location at
the University of Southern California Thorton School of Music
in July. He will participate in
the camp’s Electronic Music
Production career track.

Wyatt traces his interest
in the music
industry back
to
midd le
school.
“At middle
school dances,
I would go up Wyatt Giampa
to the DJs and
ask them about a bunch of
stuff. I kind of created a little
business out of it, I got all the
equipment,” he said. “I started
fooling around with it and then
it became the main interest of

everything.”
Also known as DJ G. WAWA,
Wyatt has DJ’d at Castilleja
High School, Corte Madera
Middle School, and various
private parties in the area. His
company is called G WAWA
Productions.
Wyatt attended Saint Francis
High School for two years and is
headed to Woodside High
School for the second half of his
high school career. He said he
plans to take advantage of
Woodside’s Audio Production
Lab.
A

C O M M U N I T Y

Good for Business. Good for You.
Good for the Community.

GraphicDesigner
Embarcadero Media, producers of the Palo Alto Weekly, The
Almanac, Mountain View Voice, PaloAltoOnline.com and several
other community websites, is looking for a graphic designer to
join its award-winning design team.
Design opportunities include online and print ad design and
editorial page layout. Applicant must be ﬂuent in InDesign,
Photoshop and Illustrator. Flash knowledge is a plus. Newspaper
or previous publication experience is preferred, but we will
consider qualiﬁed — including entry level — candidates. Most
importantly, designer must be a team player and demonstrate
Brian McConville-Greenberg & McConville

speed, accuracy and thrive under deadline pressure. The

Debutantes from the 52nd Peninsula Ball, which benefited the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula.

Catherine Perez, Madeline
Pierson, Kara Rosenberg, Elisabeth Rossi, Clare Rudolph,
Charlotte Sewell, Erin Sheridan, Kennedy Shields, Shelby
Soltau, Jacqueline Stoner, and
Megan Yang.
Nancy Jones was chairman of
the ball, with Maxine Bonnette
as honorary chair. Chris Martin
was the presentation director
for the ball, which benefited the
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula.
Two of the ball committee
members had daughters making their debuts this year. Catherine Hannay is the daughter of
Marsha Haynes Hannay, a Peninsula deb in the 1970s. Alexandra Douglass is the daughter
of Julie Frances Douglass, who
has been on the ball committee

Author gives talk on Caltrain
Former Caltrain staffer Janet
McGovern will talk about her
new book on the history of the rail
line during a program at 1 p.m.
Saturday, July 21, at the San Mateo
County History Museum.
The book, entitled “Caltrain
and the Peninsula Commute
Service,” deals with how the
rail line was started in 1864
to link San Francisco and San
Jose. Operated by the Southern
Pacific for most of its history,
this commuter line is the oldest
continuously operating passenger railroad in the West.

Ms. McGovern covered Southern Pacific as a reporter for the
Redwood City Tribune and
joined the Caltrain public information staff in 1992, retiring in
2011. Her husband Reg, a veteran newspaper photographer,
has many of his pictures in the
book.
The talk will be held in Courtroom A at the museum, located
at 2200 Broadway St. in Redwood City. Admission to this
event is free with admission to
the museum: $5 for adults and
$3 for seniors and students.

work as a PDF (or URL) to Shannon Corey, Creative Director,
at scorey@paweekly.com

for two years.
The evening was concluded
with dancing to Dick Bright and
his Orchestra, along with the
Club 90 Band.

4 5 0 C A M B R I D G E AV E N U E | PA L O A LT O

Multimedia
Advertising Sales Representative
Embarcadero Media is a multimedia company with websites, email news digests
(Express) and community newspapers on the Peninsula, in the East Bay and in Marin.
We are the leader in community news and local advertising solutions in the markets we
serve. More residents in our communities turn to our websites, email news digests and
print media as the primary choice for local news and information.
We are looking for an aggressive, sophisticated Outside Sales Representative for a prime
display ad sales territory on the Peninsula. Experience in online, social media, search
marketing, and print media sales is a plus. Familiarity with the advertising industry and
selling solutions to local and regional businesses is required.
We offer salary, commission, bonus plan, health benefits, paid time off and an environment
where success and achievement is rewarded.
Most importantly, the successful candidate must have a drive to be a top performer and
enjoy working with clients who are looking to our company to provide them with cost
effective and efficient advertising solutions. Consultative selling approaches are key to
success in this position.
If you have the passion to achieve great success in your career and believe you can
contribute significantly to our leadership position in the market, please send your
resume and a brief summary as to why you believe you are the right candidate for this
outstanding opportunity.
Qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview.
Please submit your resume and cover letter to:
Tom Zahiralis, Vice President Sales and Marketing
tzahiralis@embarcaderopublishing.com